State to begin water testing in effort to reopen shellfishing beds

Monday

Jun 23, 2008 at 12:01 AMJun 23, 2008 at 11:16 PM

A Division of Marine Fisheries biologist will soon be canvassing the Coles River later this month before engaging in a battery of tests in July that town officials hope will lead to the reopening of shellfish beds in town.

Jay Pateakos

A Division of Marine Fisheries biologist will soon be canvassing the Coles River later this month before engaging in a battery of tests in July that town officials hope will lead to the reopening of shellfish beds in town.

Once a source of commercial and recreational shellfishing, the town has not seen a legal shellfish pulled from its water since the Coles River beds were shut down due to contamination on May 1, 1985.

Townspeople never thought it would take more than 20 years to see those beds reopened, but Selectmen Robert Marquis has made the shellfish situation one of his top priorities over the last few years. He had originally called for a $50,000 warrant article that he hoped would expedite the reopening of the beds by hiring a consultant who would help target where the contamination is coming from and steer the town toward correcting the contamination. But the Division of Marine Fisheries announced in the spring that it is looking to increase its own testing in the area to see if a change in the classification of the beds could be made.

In order to allow for safe shellfishing, DMF water test results must come in less than 14 coliform bacteria per 100 milliliters. Although Swansea has seen improved test results over the last few years, some test results recorded after rainfall events have come back with numbers in the triple digits. Finding the source of that contamination, or “hot spots” as they are known, is key to reclassifying the beds, said DMF biologist Greg Sawyer.

The survey will entail taking dozens of samplings from around the Coles River looking to target certain areas that are more contaminated than others. Sawyer said the aim of the testing is in hopes of eventually reclassifying some shellfish areas to at least a restricted classification similar to what goes on in Mattapoisett, Westport and Wareham.

But Sawyer said he’s not into giving anyone in town a sense of hope where there may be none. He said thinking about any reclassification this year would be out of the question, with the earliest change to be coming next year if at all. A seasonal reclassification would allow shellfishing during the late fall and winter when the weather is colder and activities less. A rainfall classification would see beds reopen but then closed on days it rains, while a full classification, which is rare, especially considering Swansea’s history, would allow for all the town’s beds to reopen unconditionally.

“We’re hoping to do more testing in the winter, continuing to gather more data, and we’ll go from there. I don’t see us having anything concrete until at least Thanksgiving,” said Sawyer. “But there are no guarantees. I don’t want people to think there is a bright light at the end of this tunnel yet.”

Selectmen Chairman Kenneth Furtado said the board is very appreciative of the extra efforts the Division of Marine Fisheries is putting in to help the town toward its goal of reopening shellfishing.

“This is a huge step that is putting us in the right direction,” said Furtado. “I think when it happens it will be an up or down decision, but it will allow us things that we may be able to improve upon.”